


Walking in a Winter Wonderland

by TheNovelArtist



Category: Code:Realize ～創世の姫君～ | Code: Realize - Guardian of Rebirth (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Victor being the sweetheart he is, i loved writing this, it made me so happy, snuggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27994116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNovelArtist/pseuds/TheNovelArtist
Summary: Victor only wants for his wife to enjoy the snow. But the joy of the day ends up being as much for him as for her.
Relationships: Cardia Beckford/Victor Frankenstein
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Few things were more precious to Victor than his dearest Cardia. After the vampire war, he felt he didn’t deserve any sort of blessings, such as a wife or family. Not after he took so many lives with his research. But then… Cardia…

She gave him hope of redemption.

And then she went a step farther and gave him the blessing of becoming his wife.

Therefore, because of that, he did cherish the moments he could spoil his beloved Cardia as best he could. Which, to him, meant spending time with her or taking her out to experience all the things she couldn’t back when she believed herself to be nothing more than a doll. Because few things could compare to the warm feeling that grew in his chest every time he got to see her smile in awe, surprise, and wonder.

Just as she was smiling now.

He turned to look out the window and quickly discovered what held her rapt attention.

“The snow is beginning to pile up,” Victor commented, calling Cardia’s attention momentarily.

She flashed him a smile. “It looks so pretty. It makes everything look so much brighter.”

Victor glanced out the window once again before turning back to Cardia, idea forming in his mind. “Would you like to go for a walk through London?”

Cardia quirked her head, quizzical look on her face.

“So you can see the difference the snow makes to it?”

At that realization, Cardia’s expression instantly brightened, already making Victor feel like the luckiest guy alive.

“Go put on something warmer, and we can go out, all right?”

With a nod, Cardia scampered off towards their room. “I’ll make it quick.”

Soon enough, they were strolling through London. Cardia hung onto his arm as she took in the sights around her, eyes glowing with wonder at the sight of London dusted with snow.

“It’s so different,” she said, snuggling up to his side. “It makes the city seem so much brighter.”

“Technically speaking, snow does make scenery brighter because it reflects light so well. However, my mother simply used to say that snow had a way of making scenes turn whimsical.”

“Whimsical,” Cardia hummed. “I think she’s right.”

They continued strolling through London, not meaning to go shopping but ending up doing so. Cardia had taken an interest in knitting lately, and with her first project—the scarf Victor was currently wearing; the one he treated like a treasure—having gone well, she got another skein of yarn to make one for herself.

With the snow now beginning to come down a little heavier than before, Victor decided that it was a good time to go back home. Though the snow wasn’t enough to send most people for shelter, he noticed Cardia’s cheeks growing too pink for his liking. With her horologium rendered innate, her ability to withstand cold temperatures had severely decreased. Victor had noticed that back when fall had come into full swing and Cardia was shivering quite often despite wearing an appropriate number of layers for the season. So while he did enjoy this time out with her, the last thing he wanted to do was expose her to the cold for too long.

However, that would have to be put on hold for a slight while longer. They’d passed by a park on their way, and Cardia had paused at the sight of children playing in the snow.

“What are they doing, Victor?”

“They’re making a snowman.”

“A snowman,” she pondered. “I think I’ve heard of them.”

“I would explain the process, but I think it might be simpler just to watch them. It’s quite common to see children making them when there’s enough snow. I used to make them when I was their age.”

Cardia studied him for just a moment before she turned away, chuckling.

Victor quirked a brow in confusion. “What is it?”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Instead of pressing, he let it go, simply enjoying the joy on his wife’s face as they watched the kids finish their snowman. Cardia marveled over the finished product for a moment until Victor pulled her along back home.

“Are you getting cold?”

“A little,” she said, taking a half-step closer to his side. “But…”

“But?”

“I…” Her pondering expression then turned resigned. “No, never mind.”

Victor couldn’t just easily accept that. “What is it, Cardia?”

She shook her head. “It’s a silly request.”

“I doubt it. I’ve never heard one from you. What is it?”

“Well,” she began somewhat hesitantly. “I… the children looked… like they were having fun.”

Victor could already see where this was going and failed to withhold a small chuckle. “Would you like to build a snowman?”

“I’ve never built one before,” she said. “And would like to try.”

“Then let’s build one when we get home, all right?”

Even though she was cold, that didn’t seem to dampen her enthusiasm one bit.

When they arrived at home, they each went inside just long enough for Victor to start a fire in the main room to warm up by once they finished and Cardia to grab what they would need to decorate the snowman.

Once their tasks were accomplished, they went back outside, where Victor showed her how to compact the snow and roll the pieces for the snowman.

From there, the process went quickly, and soon enough, they placed the coal, carrots, and fallen limbs on the stack of snowballs to complete the snowman.

Admittedly, Victor found the process nostalgic, but watching Cardia’s excitement over the whole process kept him strongly rooted in the present moment.

“Now, we need to dress him, like the children did.” She turned to Victor. “Could we possibly borrow your hat and scarf for a while?”

Victor froze a second. The hat he didn’t mind at all, but the scarf…

He sighed. He couldn’t say no to her pleading eyes like that. “All right.”

Joy once again flooded her expression as she took his top hat and the scarf he treasured so much to clothe the snowman. That was the only reason he’d tolerate it.

However, her joy didn’t last long. The more time she spent staring at the snowman, the more that grin of hers faded.

Before he could ask what was wrong, she murmured, “He seems lonely.”

And soon enough, they were making a second snowman next to the first. Cardia had gone back inside to grab more materials while Victor searched for two more fallen limbs to use as arms. When it was complete, Cardia was the one to decorate it with her hat and scarf.

“There,” she said, turning to smile at him. “Now, there’s one for both of us. Neither of us have to be lonely when we have each other.”

Victor froze, his heart now jumping like crazy in his chest. His cheeks flared with warmth as Cardia looked up at him oh so sweetly. It took him a long moment to process her words, but once he did, he managed to return her smile as he pulled her in close. She giggled, but came easily into his embrace. “Thank you, Cardia,” he whispered. “For making sure I’m never lonely again.”

“I could say the same to you, Victor. It’s all because of you I’m able to live like this.”

He lingered like that just a moment longer before pulling away, but not before dropping a kiss to her forehead first. “You’re cold,” he observed. “We should go inside now.”

Cardia followed him with no complaints as he led her back inside the mansion and into the main sitting room, now warm from the fire he’d started earlier. He sat her down beside it, then quickly slipped into the kitchen to put on a kettle of water for tea before returning to her side.

“Are you getting warm again?”

Cardia nodded, extending her hands towards the fire. “I didn’t realize how cold I was. I was having too much fun.”

Noticing her movements, Victor reached out to take her hands in hers. Normally, he’d marvel over how they fit so well in his, but today, he was focused on something different. “They’re so cold, Cardia!”

Without thought, he tugged her hands towards him, rubbing them between his own before puffing warm breath on them. Even once they were no longer frigid to the touch, he didn’t let go. “Is that better?”

He took in Cardia’s shy expression, cheeks a rosy pink and growing redder. “Yes. Thank you.”

Only then did he realize what he’d done. And while he didn’t let go of her hands, he found his own cheeks warming up. “You’re welcome.”

Eventually, the tea got prepared, and seemingly in a flash, it was gone. They’d gone to snuggling on the couch after that, but Victor wasn’t fully sure how they ended up in their current position: Victor laying flat on his back across the couch while Cardia was in his arms, curled up on his chest with one hand resting right above his heart.

There were two warring thoughts in his mind. One being that they should start making dinner soon seeing as it was growing late and they had only had a light lunch before going out to walk around London. And the other being that he didn’t mind this position at all, but thought that if they were going to be in this position, he’d rather they be snuggled beneath the covers in bed.

And then the third thought popped into his mind of if Cardia would be willing to forgo dinner entirely just so that second thought could become reality.

“Victor.”

“Hmm? Yes, Cardia.”

“Thank you for today.”

He smiled, feeling warmth spread through him down to his toes. “You’re welcome. I had a lot of fun today, too.”

“Can we do it again sometime?”

“I would really like that.”

“Good.” With that, Cardia propped herself up on her elbows so she could meet Victor’s gaze. If he wasn’t warm before, he sure was warm now. “And Victor?”

“Yes, Cardia?”

She leaned down to steal a quick peck from his lips. “I love you.”

He stiffened. This woman still managed to catch him off guard no matter how prepared he thought he was for everything. He absently wondered if there would ever be a time that he was fully prepared for whatever Cardia threw at him before hoping that was never the case. She could surprise him as much as she liked as long as she continued doing so for the rest of his life.

With a smile, he wrapped his arms tighter around Cardia, pulling her ever closer. Dinner could wait, there was something far more important he had to do now. “I love you, too,” he whispered, right before he proved it with a kiss.


End file.
